Well, today, December 28th, is our due date. There’s no signs that it’s going to be happening any time soon. Today also happens to be our half year anniversary. We’re now at 4 1/2 years.

We could sure use your prayers as we enter this final stretch of the pregnancy. The room is ready, bags packed, baby car seat installed and ready to go… we just need the baby to want to be here. We look forward to sharing this new joy of our lives with you in the very near future.

Thank you for your many gifts through baby showers and mailings. You’ve blessed us immensely. We hope that we can return some of that blessing with the new child God will be bringing into this world very shortly. Please come and visit us soon after the baby has arrived. Look back here often for updates on the baby and mother. We’re sure to have photos and video up for everyone to see.

The Problem:
Right now the financial back bone of SIM is very outdated. Much of our process is still done all on paper. Everything is separate and nothing is databased together. When you change something, it has to be done in 10 places and 5 people informed to change in their 10 places.

The Fix:
For the last 6 months SIM has begun the process of making the major overhaul of changing the entire system from the ground up. I recently heard from the project coordinator and a lot of very important decisions are coming to a head before the end of the year. Some of them involved costs DIFFERENCES of $250k. The vendor they would like to use for everything is just to expensive for the whole package. Since SIM would like to still use portions of their package instead of the whole enchilada (as we say in Texas), the vendor wants to remove the special pricing they had, understandably. So now SIM is in a rock and a hard place.

Pray:
Please take a moment as this is not just about a project, but changing a lot about how SIM is run. How every person’s finances are handled. How your donations are processed, communicated, etc. etc. It will all be better once this is done.

No doubt the worst situation is if everything is delayed. This is such a big project, it will take over a year just to build out and implement. The current system is so outdated, it would be a shame to delay this any further.

Please pray for the SIM leadership, and that if God wills it, that the vendors would be willing to discount products for SIM.

It turns out the same man carried out the shooting in Denver at the YWAM office and in Colorado Springs at New Life Church. YWAM has an office in that church. The young man worked with YWAM a few years ago and had a falling out. Please continue to be in prayer for the families involved in both incidents. The young man was killed at the church by their security.

Click here for the latest CNN.com article.

Our church held a Harvest Festival in place of halloween 2 weeks ago and used the event to highlight the missionaries and initiatives of the church. For the first time Allison and I set up an event booth. We had a lot of people come by and talk with us, many asking to stay informed and are now receiving our email newsletter.

At one point that morning, an African gentleman approached Allison and asked if she knew why ‘America’ was in Sudan. Sensing entrapment, Allison explained the mission work she and I would be doing in South Sudan. After some back and forth he said ‘America is there for the oil’ with a forceful tone. Allison was loving and explained that we were there to share God’s love. He then walked away.

Because of our passion for the people of Southern Sudan, and my patriotism, my soul was injured while watching this exchange between Allison and the African. It truely feels like a spiritual attack.

I will always steer clear of any political talk as our ministry has nothing to do with that and desires to work with the Sudanese people, no matter the politcal situation. But I wanted to share the true disinformation that is spread among people and what it can do to rip people apart. As many of you know, there’s a lot going on right now with the CPA and it’s a very tense time. I just read an article today that quoted the President of Sudan, talking to the military, saying that the west only wants to be involved b/c they want the resources in the South and then goes on to say “Those Americans, those British, and those Europeans are not keen about the people of Darfur, or the people of southern Sudan or the Sudanese people.” Wow, that hurt. There are so many people, just in Dallas, who are specifically working in Darfur and other areas of Sudan to help the people. NONE of them have an alterior motive such as oil or any other financial reason.

This cuts deap into our hearts and those doing work in Sudan. I would ask that you would pray for the spiritual battle which has already started for Allison and I.

The Southern government SPLM has pulled out of the unity government today. Please be in prayer for continued peace and implimentation of the CPA (Comprehensive Peace Agreement).

Read about it:
Al Jazeera
BBC News

Update:
It appears the SPLM has not pulled out of the government but the acting ministers (heads of government arms) were recalled back to Juba, the Southern capital, to evaluate the implimentation of the CPA and brief them on some new SPLM government officials. In effect, this ‘recall back to Juba’ is a withdrawl from the unity government.

More Links:
Sudan Tribune
New Sudan Vision

You might have received an email recently from me that looked very similar to my web site. It was an eNewsletter by a service I’m using with Constant Contact. If you did not receive it, please sign up for it with the box to the right. Over time, this will save us a lot of funds and can be used more directly in our ministry on the field. We spend $100-200 dollars every time we send a mailing. So you can imagine how much that could save us over a year.

Monday we will send out our second letter. Our first letter focused on recoonecting with everyone and explaining our prayer and financial needs coming this summer. This letter will focus on explaining our long term needs and reach out to those who would like to contribute on a monthly or annual basis, long term.

We look forward to ministering together with you!

Please pray about how God might have you involved in our ministry and pray for others as they consider their involvement as well.

As many of you know, Allison grew up in Tulsa. Her whole life she attended Tulsa’s downtown First United Methodist Church, a very conservative Methodist church compared to what I’m used to in Dallas. Her family history at the church extends back a few generations when her grandfather was supported by them when they were doing missions in Kobe, Japan, where her father grew up.

Their missions board has asked that we submit an application for support from their church. Just last week over Easter weekend we had the opportunity to meet with their missions pastor and find out more about their missions focus and purpose. We wil be turning in the application for support in the next week and would ask for your prayers in how they might be involved in God’s mission for our work in Sudan.

As many of you know, Allison works at Park Cities Presbyterian Church in their World Missions department. Recently they invited us to come and speak at their monthly missions board meeting. Allison usually attends their meetings to take minutes and other administrative duties for the board. So I came at met her just before the board started their meeting. They asked a lot of great questions and got to really hear about our heart’s passions and discuss the kind of work we’ll be doing with SIM in Sudan. If you are a member at PCPC, I want you to know how much I appreciate sharing with your church and that they truely care for the work Allison and I will be doing.